Frankenstorm: What kind of god?

When his monster came to life, Dr. Frankenstein said in manic derangement: “In the name of God, now I know what it feels like to be a God!”

Now, in the wake of Frankenstorm, we know what it feels like. Sandy is, in part, our malignant creation.

Today is about rescue. Tomorrow is about recovery. You can help now, here.

But with fateful political choices looming, we cannot hesitate to say this: Extreme weather is juiced by climate disruption. It is inflicted by the people who buy our elections so as to ensure our dependence on fossil fuels. The specter of coal ads interspersed among the disaster footage is beyond ironic; it’s sick.

If there is some danger in appearing opportunistic by “using” Sandy to call attention to the climate crisis, it is more than offset by the danger of perpetuating climate silence.

A just god would do more than attend to its monster’s victims. It would stop it. And it would create something different.

But what about the generations of victims we can save now, if we stand up and wage the clean energy revolution that will spare some of them? Condemning them with denial – or silence – is no way to show our compassion for today’s victims.

The “rising of the seas,” Sandy bellowed back at Mitt Romney, is not to be mocked. Nor will it be placated by the President’s climate silence. I’m not being poetic. The less we speak, the more climate will speak for itself. If we fail to deal, it gets worse. Actually.